Ansonia eyes storefront 'facelift' grants

Jean Falbo-Sosnovich, Register Correspondent

Published
12:00 am EST, Thursday, February 16, 2012

ANSONIA -- Main Street could soon be in line for a mini-makeover.

One of the initiatives discussed by the Economic Development Commission Thursday is to create a grant program designed for downtown storefront rehabilitation. Such improvements to lighting and signage, for example, would help achieve "uniformity" among businesses and an overall more aesthetically pleasing look downtown, officials said.

Alderman John Marini, who serves as the city's liaison to the commission, through input from downtown business owners, proposed the idea to boost economic development opportunities.

"The hope is that this program will lead to a more attractive Main Street for residents and potential investors," Marini said. "Our ultimate goal is to fill all commercial vacancies on Main Street and increase the city's Grand List. This is the only way to avoid future tax increases."

Marini said in order to move forward with the idea, the commission needs to request a line item transfer from the city's tax board. Marini said there's about $80,000 remaining in the EDC's budget, which is currently allocated to the former Economic Development drector's salary. Ansonia has been without an ED director since Claude Perry passed away last September. Perry served in the position for nearly 30 years.

If the transfer is approved, Marini said a portion of the funds would enable the commission to establish and run its own grant program. Downtown business owners would be able to apply to the commission for up to $2,000 in matching funds to make improvements to signage and lighting, for example, or to otherwise eliminate blight, according to Marini.

"The types of improvements the funds can be used for would be established by the commission in cooperation with the business owners themselves," Marini added. During a business forum held last month, many business owners presented their ideas for how they envision a more enhanced downtown. Giving storefronts a facelift was a top priority.

Another one of the ideas is for the commission to create its own website, solely dedicated to promoting Ansonia businesses, and serving as a tool to draw potential developers and investors here.

Commission Chairman Vincent Scarlata said it's crucial for Ansonia to do what it can to market itself. "There's a lot of information we'd like to put out there, including a full list of all available storefronts and properties in Ansonia," Scarlata said. The website could potentially include a directory of all Ansonia businesses, with links to their personal websites, along with photos, profiles of business owners and more. "The whole idea of having a website is really a way of selling Ansonia," Marini said.

Scarlata said the commission will form a committee to get input on what people want the website to look like and offer. He said start-up costs also need to be determined.

"This will be a vehicle to market ourselves and to get valuable information out," he said.

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